


Turn the Page

by BlaiddDrwg1982



Series: Sterek AUs [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Emissary in Training Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Soulmates, Werewolves are mostly known, derek and stiles are same age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 16:22:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13814949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlaiddDrwg1982/pseuds/BlaiddDrwg1982
Summary: The concept of soulmates was simple enough. Out there in the wide wide world, you had your perfect match who would fulfill you hearts hopes and dreams. Sometimes they were near, sometimes on the other side of the planet. Every so often as you grew up you would see a sign that would help guide you on your way, or would be important to bring them to you.





	Turn the Page

**Author's Note:**

> My first Soulmate AU story. I hope you enjoy it! I live for comments. Please be gentle. :-)

The concept of soulmates was simple enough. Out there in the wide wide world, you had your perfect match who would fulfill you hearts hopes and dreams. Sometimes they were near, sometimes on the other side of the planet. Every so often as you grew up you would see a sign that would help guide you on your way, or would be important to bring them to you. Sometimes it was overtly obvious like their initials appearing at random, or they would be backlit the first time you saw them with an ethereal glow. Sometimes it was more subtle like the fact you couldn’t get their small little grin out of your mind. 

Sometimes, you were like Stiles Stilinski and all your mind was drawn to was a crumple up ball of paper, black dog fur, and a hand gun. Stiles was utterly confused and convinced the only way he was going to meet his soul mate was at a shotgun wedding held in a pound and instead of confetti someone was going to lob a text book at him. 

His best friend of all his friends tried convincing him it wasn’t so dire, but that was easy for Scott to say. He’d met his soulmate when they were 6 years old after she nearly Were’d and took out her family from the back of the family car. Luckily her Mom was able to pull off to the side of the road before Malia completely lost her mind under the full moon. Scott’s sign was a sensible family sedan with a stuffed coyote in the back window. There was precisely one family of Werecoyotes in Beacon Hills and they had the exact sedan Scott kept seeing in his dreams. It didn’t take a genius to put that sign together. Which, if Stiles was being less than kind but totally honest, was probably what Scott needed. 

Sighing as he threw his book bag down beside the couch at his Derek’s place, he picked up the second controller and waited for Rainbow Road to kick Derek’s ass into a new shape before they went head to head. 

“Any luck today Stiles?”

Chewing on the hoodie string, Stiles just grunted. Looking over at Derek, he couldn’t help but grin. The summer between Junior and Senior year had been VERY kind to Derek if Stiles did say so himself. Truthfully Stiles had been worried that Derek would stop hanging out with him with his new status as town hottie, but he was more than happy to see that his friend wanted him around still. In an evening when Stiles had snuck a bottle of his dad’s bourbon out of the house, and Derek had pilfered a bottle of his Mom’s wolfsbane infused wine, Stiles had actually had enough liquid courage to voice this concern to Derek. Derek just rolled his eyes and flashed the gold of his wolf’s eyes at Stiles.

“Nah man. You…you are gonna be stuck with me until my fur is falling out and you’ll have to get me those stairs…those step things for dogs…so I can get up onto my bed. You’re gonna be SO stuck with me that you can’t even stand it.”

Stiles in his drunken stupor merely laughed but at the same time felt more than a little reassured that his buddy wasn’t going anywhere. He loved Scott like a bro, but Derek was different. He didn’t have to dumb things down for Derek which made Stiles feel like a shitty bro for thinking, but it was true. He felt warm and fuzzy at the thought of Derek wanting to stay friends until they were old and grey. Even if he never found his soulmate, at least he had his friends. Somedays, that felt like it was enough. Somedays, it felt like his heart would burst.

Snapping back to present, Stiles jumped into the game and was thoroughly kicking Derek’s ass. Even on Rainbow Road.

“Hey Stiles. I forgot to tell you. I think I may have figured out who my soulmate is.”

Stiles felt his smile quirk a little bit. Derek’s signs were almost as ambiguous as his own. A low note almost like a growl. A flash of light. The smell of fire. The same things every time since they were kids. Whatever it was, it was supposed to lead Derek to finding his soulmate as well.

“That’s awesome. Who is it?”

“You remember Paige?”

Stiles smirked and nodded his head. He remembered her. He remembered sticking gum in her hair in the school yard, and her tripping him stuffing snow down his shirt and jacket. He never ratted her out though, and she returned the favour so they decided they could live with being friends. Her Dad was in the army though, so they tended to move around a lot. He’d seen her in school recently though, so it would appear her Dad had been posted back to the area. 

“Well. I was walking back towards the locker rooms after practise and hear this low mournful wail coming from the music room.”

“Just like your sign.”

“Yeah. So I decided to poke my head in and sure enough there she is, playing her cello.”

“Last time I heard, it sounded like she was torturing a cat.”

“Any how well did you play the violin 9 years ago Mieczyslaw?”

Stiles shuddered when Derek used his given name.

“About as well as I do now. Remember what Mrs. Hnatov used to say?”

Derek snickered. Affecting a ridiculous Russian accent.

“Such a shame. Such hands. You play like drunk lock pick using cats.”

Stiles laughed and nodded. He was convinced it lost something in the translation. It was true though. Long fingers that should have done well, barely managed to produce a solid note. He’d faired much better when he was allowed to change over to piano.

“After I poked my head in there was a flash from a lightbulb blowing up and then a sign for the bonfire at Homecoming showed up in my peripheral vision.”

That sounded pretty tenuous at best in Stiles’ ears, but who was he to say. He had crumpled paper, dog fur and weaponry to go with. If that meant that his friend had found his one and only, then fantastic.

“And how did she react to the fact you’re a Werewolf?”

Derek looked down and away from the screen, which caused him to lose the race at Stiles passed him to a first place victory. Setting the controller down, Stiles screwed up a smile on his face and gave his friend’s shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

“Okay buddy. Out with it.”

Derek shook his head.

“No. It’s…it’s stupid.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and draped himself across Derek’s back. He was best friends with a highly tactile werewolf. He knew when his friend needed the reassurance of touch. Wrapping his arms around his neck.

“You can always tell me Derek. Before you know it, Deaton’s going to retire and I’m gonna have to step up as your Emissary. Might as well start telling me shit now. Nothing’s stopped you before.”

Derek gave a small huff of impatience. Stiles started showing signs he’d be emissary material right around when Derek started to shift. His already established closeness to the Hale family made him the logical successor once Deaton wanted to step down. His twice a week Druid lessons had been going on since they were 8 years old and the Hale family welcomed him as much as Derek’s annoying friend as they did their Emissary apparent. Stiles’ quick thinking in sensing Kate Argent’s ambitions had save the family and force the Argent family to take a closer look at how they were running things in relation to the monsters the hunted. 

“I didn’t exactly tell her.”

Stiles did his best to stay neutral and not give away that he was surprised.

“You do know you’ll have to right?”

Derek nodded his head and scrubbed his face. 

“Yeah. Just. I don’t want to freak her out. You know? Peter said…”

“Woah. Woah. Wait. You’ve already talked to Peter about this? Before moi? That’s harsh dude. Way harsh.”

Derek rolled his eyes and chuckled. Peter was seldom if ever the person to confide in, but Derek was desperate and Stiles was in training.

“Anyway…Peter said I could probably get an Alpha to turn her…”

Stiles shook his head violently.  
“Dude. Listen to yourself. First off. That’s Peter’s suggestion? The man who statistically can’t be trusted to tell you that water is wet? Why are you even listening? Second, it’s illegal to change someone’s species without their permission. Three. It could kill her. Statistically speaking, the odds are not in her favour. There isn’t a SINGLE shifter in her family and she told us herself when we were kids that her Uncle died from the Bite. That decreases her odds significantly. Just…try your luck with telling her and let her make the decision.”

Stiles gave his friend a reassuring squeeze and smiled when Derek finally leaned into the touch, hugging him back as he was able from the vantage point he had. Stiles didn’t let him go until he felt the tension release from his friend’s body.

“If she can’t accept you for everything you are, then clearly she isn’t your soul mate Der. However it plays out, you know I’m here for you right?”

Derek nodded his head. It was so much easier talking to Stiles about everything. He just understood what Derek was afraid of, and always knew the way to make him feel better.

“You’re going to be an amazing Emissary one day.”

“Thanks Der. See you tomorrow?”

Nodding his head, he gave his friend a tighter hug and a kiss on the cheek. They’d started out as best friends at the age of 6 when all the kisses in the world were innocent. Even though they were strapping lads of 18, they didn’t feel the need to stop.

***

Days later, Stiles sat on his bed watching Derek pace, face pale and sweating. It was the full moon and normally he’d be out there running with his family. Except his parents were in South America visiting family with Derek’s sisters. Peter was on one of his unscheduled walk about and Derek had been advised to avoid the woods. There was a couple visiting Alphas and him being out there wouldn’t be prudent. Talia had granted them safe passage through her territory and the presence of Derek could be seen as interference. So here he was instead, pacing Stiles’ room like he was a caged animal. He couldn’t run, and he was hoping his friend could keep him calm until the moon set. His eyes were glowing, his fangs were out, claws flashing in the low light. He had just enough clothes on to keep his modesty, and Stiles was wearing fuzzy pyjama pants with cartoon bunnies on them and one of Derek’s henleys. Watching the werewolf pace, Stiles expression was utterly serious.

“Repeat it.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I WON’T!” Derek snarled in Stiles face, spittle flying from his fangs to hit Stiles in the face. 

The human didn’t flinch. 

Instead, he muttered a few words of Gaelic and flicked his fingers like he was flicking dust off Derek’s shoulder. The result was the werewolf flying backwards and almost hitting the wall. A blue barrier shimmered. Stiles had circled the room in mountain ash to keep Derek in for the night, but pulled the barrier in JUST enough to protect his walls. Looking distinctly unamused, Derek snarled at Stiles. Stiles blew and air kiss at him and simply said.

“Repeat it.”

“Alpha…Beta…Omega.”  
“Again.”

“Alpha…Beta…Omega…”

The litany repeated itself over and over again until Derek’s voice took on a chanting quality, mouth no longer filled with fangs. Taking a few deep breaths to ground and centre himself, Derek looked up at Stiles from the floor, expression sheepish.

“Better?”

“Yeah.”

“How did it go talking to Paige?”

Stiles had been hanging out with the two of them as often as he dare. Part of it was to be social. Part of it was to assess a potential danger, or mate, for his pack. Paige was a sweet girl. Great musician. She fell fast into being his friend again and was thrilled to be dating Derek. She played her card close to her chest so he didn’t know what her Soul Mate signs were, but he was at ease with the fact she was dating Derek. No threat.

“She was…brave.”

“But.”

Derek sighed and shrugged.

“She smelled afraid.”

Stiles nodded his head. It wasn’t an easy thing finding out the person they were dating was a Were. Derek eventually climbed on the bed, resting his head in Stiles’ lap, he scratched at Stiles’ knee.

“I’m sensing there’s a but here.”

“But she still wants to go with me to the homecoming bonfire so I guess that’s something.”

Stiles smiled at the relief in Derek’s voice. Letting the tension relax from his shoulders, he sat against the head of the bed. Looking at the clock, they still had a few hours until the moon started to set and Derek was able to relax enough to sleep.

“Why can’t it be as easy with her as it was telling you?”

Stiles shrugged. Derek had told them when they were kids what he was and Stiles didn’t really care at all. As long as they could still play G.I. Joes after school, that was all he cared about. Their friendship had been uncomplicated from day one. Something Stiles cherished as they got older. Derek’s family had been there for him and his Dad when his mom passed away. Talia and Samuel had taken him in while his Dad got himself put back together after falling deep into depression. He was as much at home at the Hales as he was in his own bedroom. In truth, sometimes more so. Talia and Sam left his room alone, and he spent almost half the week there if his Dad was on night shifts.

“We were kids when you told me Der.”

“But you didn’t care.”

“You’re my friend. Why would I care. We’re pack. That’s all that’s important.”

Derek’s eyes started to drift closed, despite the fact the full moon was at its peak. Stiles looked down at his friend, a smile on his face. Paige better realize how lucky she was, or he’d have to have a word with her himself.

“Get some sleep Der. I’ll watch over you until the moon starts to set.”

Murmuring lightly in his twilight dozing, Derek mustered up a small smile.

“I love you Mieczyslaw.”

Gentling his fingers through Derek’s hair, he smiled back.

“I love you too Der.”

***

Stiles was beside himself. He’d heard that Peter had still asked an Alpha by the name of Ennis to bite Paige for his nephew so she would have no choice but to fully accept the fact Derek and family was a werewolf. Of course Paige didn’t know this. Neither did Derek. Stiles had over heard Peter talking to someone when he’d slipped in the back of the Hale house, intending on leaving a cupcake for Talia as a surprise on her birthday. Slipping out, he’d rushed back to school, looking around frantically. The bonfire was just starting to kick up, and in his panic, he couldn’t focus enough to reach out and find the pack bond he’d shared with Derek. 

He had found Laura and let her know what was going on. They’d resolved to remedy this without drawing unnecessary worry to Derek. If he didn’t know, so much the better. The ONLY reason Stiles included Laura was because she would eventually become his Alpha, and no-one besides him knew she’d come back for Homecoming weekend. Stiles had rushed home and broken into his father’s foot locker, pulling out a black bag and a clip. Without thinking he stuffed the clip in his back pocket and stuffed the small back down the back of his pants.

Pulling his cellphone out, he saw one waiting text from Derek.

_We’re at the school. Where are you?_

Thumbs hovering over the keyboard, he felt a crippling headache slide up his spine and wrap itself around his brain. Screaming out into the night, the empty house and its wards absorbed the sound. In his mids eye, he saw Paige’s lifeless eyes stare back at him accusingly, the black pelt and red eyes of a wolf with innocent blood on its fangs, and the gun he had stolen from his father sitting unused in his hand. Eventually, the vision resolved to showing a face of his perfect love, who would erase all doubts from his life, and in turn he would do the same for.

Derek Hale. His best friend since childhood.

All he had to do was let his girlfriend die and then he could have Derek all to himself. 

Feeling bile claw its way up his throat, he threw up the trace amounts of a barely eaten breakfast while everything sorted itself in his mind. Shaking his head as bitter tears burned his eyes and the repulsive smell forced him to retreat, he all but fell down the stairs. Phone buzzing again, it was a message from Laura.

_Any ideas?_

Stiles looked at the phone. He didn’t want to lead anyone else into danger, so he did what his Emissary training had told him to do. 

He lied.

_Check the preserve. I got a flash of something from out there. Worth taking a look. I’ll meet you as soon as I can._

He saw the bubbles showing Laura was typing.

_Sounds good. Thanks. You’re good at this. :-)_

Stiles stuffed his phone in his pocket, feeling like the worst sort of person. 

Hopping in his Jeep, he tore off towards the High School, praying that he wasn’t too late.

***

Derek and Paige held hands as they ran through the hall, narrowly avoiding the pursuing Alpha. Derek knew he had no chance of besting the beast in a fight, but the other Wolf’s form was cumbersome. Derek knew that he was toying with them. Derek also had no doubt it was a he due to an unfortunate glimpse of some very male anatomy. 

Swinging around the corner, they hear the Alpha slam into a set of lockers and howl when they tell down on top of him. Derek couldn’t spare the time to pull his phone out to text or call anyone. He was panicked, afraid, and ashamed of that fear. Looking over his shoulder as he pulled Paige forward, the human was starting to tire, the adrenaline wearing off and like a lot of prey, was resigning herself to her fate. That she was never going to make it out of here alive.

“Come on Paige. We just…we just have to get out of there. To the crowd. He won’t follow us to the fire. Just a bit further.”

He tried his best to keep the fear and panic out of his voice and encourage her to keep going. He was finding it harder and harder every step they took. The air was laced with fear. His own wolf was called to it, but he kept his mind clear, knowing that’s what his parents would want him to do. That it’s what Stiles would want him to do. Scooping up Paige, he grunted, letting a partial shift take over, enhancing his speed and strength to compensate for the human. She was suddenly lighter, and he was able to keep the distance.

Skittering around the corner that lead to the exit, he allowed himself a smile. They were going to make it. Beyond the doors lay the bonfire. Lay safety. Opening his mouth to say something, he felt a heavy weight land on his back, sending Paige sprawling across the floor. Distantly he heard her wrist crack at the sudden impact. Feeling the fire in his back, he felt his breath leave his chest as the Alpha pressed down on it. 

“You’ll thank me later,” the Alpha growled in his ear. Unable to do much more than whimper, he watched as the Werewolf stalked towards Paige who was doing her best to not scream. 

From a distance, he heard a warning growl that sounded too human to be Were. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Stiles, one hand glowing with a dangerous fire, the other holding a gun utterly steady. The warning tone was coming from the fire.  
“Alpha Ennis. I demand you leave this place immediately. Your protection in Hale lands has been rescinded. If you do not depart I will be forced to take action.”

Stiles was impressed with himself. He’d managed to say it without stumbling over his words. He’d have to gloat about that later if he survived this. 

The Alpha turned and all but laughed at Stiles’ temerity. 

“Puny Emissary. I’ll leave once I’ve bitten this whelp’s bitch.”

“She’s not a bitch. She’s a human in our territory and under my protection. Now leave.”

Ennis threw his head back in his current shifted form’s closest approximation of a laugh. Letting the rest of his shift over take him, he dropped down to four paws, eyes flashing red. Turning towards Paige, Stiles watched in slow motion as he crouched down to strike. Taking a deep breath, Stiles extinguished the flame with a bright flash, before bringing the weapon to bear. Squeezing the trigger with trained precision, the slugs struck the Wolf in non-fatal zones, but forced him to shift back to his human form. Watching as Paige finally got herself to her feet, face white in terror, Stiles heard the world rush to get caught up to him. 

All of a sudden, everything was going too fast. Paige was out the door, sobbing and retching. Derek looked at him with what could only be described as a dawning realization. Stiles started to shake as his brain caught up with what he’d done. Dropping the gun, he doubled over and spit out a thin line of saliva, having left whatever food he’d eaten at the foot of his Dad’s bed. Watching the direction Paige was going, he felt Derek gather him into his arms, pulling him tightly to his chest. 

“Stiles you…”

“Go.”

“But?”

Stiles shook his head. “Go to her Derek. You love her. I know you do. Just. Go. Take care of her.”

“But you…?”

Stiles took a deep breath. Deaton’s first lesson. How to lie to a Werewolf. Stiles was almost ashamed at how good he was at it. Almost. He’d had years of practice. Every ounce of it went into the next 10 minutes.

“It doesn’t matter about me Derek. It matters about you. Paige is the one you were drawn to, and who knows. You may have ticked off her soulmate boxes. I protected you, because you are Pack, and that is something more than I would have ever dreamed to share with you and your family.”

Stiles sniffed, wiping a tear from his eyes. Taking Derek’s hands in his own, his heartbeat stayed strong and steady.

“You deserve to choose your happiness Der. And right now that young lady needs you to help her make sense of tonight. I have to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else and talk to Alan about all of this.”

Derek opened his mouth to protest.

“You are my best friend Derek. I just want you to be able to chose your happiness. Now go. Paige needs your help. I…I got this. It’s what I do.”

Stepping back, Derek looked in the direction Paige had gone. Towards the music room. Where she felt safest. Without saying a word, Derek took off down the hall, the sound of the crowd from outside overwhelming his hearing, not allowing him to hear as Stiles fell heavily to his knees and started to cry in earnest.

***

Stiles did everything in his power to avoid Derek after that. He would stop by the Hales house when he knew Derek would be out, and conveniently made himself scarce during his free period or his lunch time. He’d confessed to Alan about finally understanding his Soul Mate indicators, and that he couldn’t let Paige die just to be with Derek. The crumpled sheet of paper was representative of a destroyed page. His asshole brain obviously going for the homonym. The black wolf with red eyes and blood on the mouth, was Ennis, killing Paige with the Bite, and the unfired gun was him not being willing to do what he needed to do to protect the human.

Alan did his best to reassure Stiles that this didn’t necessarily mean Derek was out of his grasp. Stiles thanked him for the optimism, and requested the rest of the month off from training. Deaton agreed.

***

As fall faded in to winter, and the biting cold was starting to become the norm, Stiles wrapped a massively oversized sweater around himself, luxuriating in the warmth. It had appeared with the daily mail, post marked from Beacon Hills, but no return address. It didn’t take a genius to know it was from Derek. It smelled like him, despite still having the tags on. In truth, he missed his Pack, even though he stopped by to have coffee with Talia and Samuel three times a week, and Cora had taken to hanging out with him at his place. Laura even crashed in his room when she was back for Thanksgiving from Harvard. 

He missed Derek. His Soul Mate. His heart ached knowing he was out there, happy and in love with Paige. He saw them every day at school together, smiling and laughing together. Soul Mate unions weren’t always guaranteed. He knew that. Absolutely. It was still hard. 

Wrapping himself up tighter, he drew Derek’s scent in to himself. Letting the tears roll down his cheeks, he collapsed into bed, face buried in the pillow, hoping to not wake his Dad with his sobs. 

Letting himself drift to sleep, with dreams of golden glows, warm hands, and the smell of pine trees, he felt himself waking up, looking in the darkness for what dared wake him up. Feeling a familiar pair of hands on his shoulder, and a draft from a poorly closed window, Stiles sat up, curling into himself at the same time. Looking up, he saw Derek’s eyes looking back to him, glowing faintly in the dark. 

Two glowing golden embers. The innocence they still contained. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m giving you space.”

“Why?”

“So you and Paige…”

“There is no ‘me and Paige.’ Not any more.”

Stiles looked down. Picking at his thumb nail he didn’t dare to look up.

“Why not. You two are perfect together. You seem so happy.”

Derek growled under his breath.

“I think you know why.”

“But if you’re happy with her…I stepped aside. You were happy with her and I stepped aside.”

Stiles sounded miserable, tears threatening to choke him. Derek reached out, hands impossibly warm and gentle. Gentler than a Werewolf had any right or reason to be. Stiles let himself lean in to the comfort, kissing the pad of the thumb as Derek traced it across his lips. Shaking his head, he repeated himself.

“I stepped aside.”

Derek shook his head, pulling Stiles in, running the tip of his nose up Stiles’ neck. The human was well versed in what was going through Derek’s mind while he did that. The fact he was wearing a sweater that was a mingling of both their scents wasn’t lost on him either, though his brain was going into autopilot mode.

“Paige and I broke up that night. Until then, she’d never had a Soul Mate sign. She was…she should have…”

Stiles finished it for him.

“She was supposed to die and it was supposed to be the catalyst for us getting together.”

Derek nodded his head, pressing a kiss to Stiles’ jugular. Biting off a whimper, Stiles nuzzled into Derek’s neck.

“But after you saved her, she saw her first sign. And it wasn’t me Stiles. Couldn’t have been me. I’m not a Thunder Kitsune. So she and I broke it off. We’re still friends though. And we’ve missed you. Where have you been?”

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut, willing the tears to not fall, but annoyed at their betrayal.

“I didn’t want to make it harder…”

“For me?”

“For me. Derek. I love you. I have always loved you. You’re it for me. And when I thought I couldn’t have you…”

Stiles shuddered in Derek’s arms, calming only as Derek’s lips claimed his own. Opening himself up to Derek’s advances, he felt the strong hands he loved so much reach gently under his shirt, pulling it up and over his head.

The time for talking was long passed. The night instead was filled with muffled gasps, and plaintive begging whispers of the best kind. Soft exclamations cried out into the night, and the sound of two bodies moving as one was all they cared about. Together they moved through the night, giving and claiming their pleasures until the sun started to rise. Riding one crest to the next, around sunrise, they finally settled, spent from a night of passion and love.

Resting his cheek on Derek’s sweat slick chest, he marvelled at the steady thrum of the other man’s heart in his ears, eyes flickering closed as exhaustion finally claimed him.

The concept of Soul Mates was, of course, easy enough to understand. The one person in all the world who could, simply by existing, serve as a balm to the heart. In practise, there were often a lot of false starts, mixed signals, and misunderstandings. For those who worked their way through it though, and chose to stay strong, to do what was right, and to give of themselves completely, they were blessed with a love that did not question, did not mock, and was always there when they needed them.


End file.
